The USGBC laid a solid foundation in the field of sustainable design when it introduced the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System in 2000. Striving to make environmentally friendly design more commonplace and accepted within the building community, the council embarked on a journey that picks up new riders on a daily basis.
For the 8th year,
ED+C is bringing you the LEED Guide, an annual publication dedicated to this transformative program, in the following pages and online at
www.EDCmag.com . In addition,
ED+C’s sister publication
Sustainable Facility also offers the LEED Guide this year.
The LEED Green Building Rating System encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. Whether you’re well versed in the nuances of the LEED system, or are just now becoming acquainted with the proverbial alphabet soup that is the acronym-heavy modus operandi of the platform, hopefully you agree that there is always room to improve the performance and condition of the existing building sector.
To understand the LEED Rating System, it is important to become familiar with its comprising facets. To be considered for LEED New Construction and Major Renovations, a building must meet specific prerequisites and additional credit areas within six categories:
• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Innovation and Design
Across these six categories, up to 69 points are accumulated and credited to determine the building’s LEED rating:
• Certified: 26 – 32 points
• Silver: 33 – 38 points
• Gold: 39 – 51 points
• Platinum: 52 – plus
And, there are multiple LEED Rating System platforms, which include:
New Construction: LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations (LEED-NC) is designed to guide and distinguish high-performance commercial and institutional projects.
Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance: LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EB:O&M) provides a benchmark for building owners and operators to measure operations, improvements and maintenance.
Commercial Interiors: LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) is a benchmark for the tenant improvement market that gives the power to make sustainable choices to tenants and designers.
Core & Shell: LEED for Core & Shell (LEED-CS) aids designers, builders, developers and new building owners in implementing sustainable design for new core and shell construction.
Schools: LEED for Schools recognizes the unique nature of the design and construction of K-12 schools and addresses the specific needs of school spaces.
Retail: LEED for Retail recognizes the unique nature of retail design and construction projects and addresses the specific needs of retail spaces.
Healthcare: LEED for Healthcare promotes sustainable planning, design and construction for high-performance healthcare facilities.
Homes: LEED for Homes (LEED-H) promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes.
Neighborhood Development: LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national program for neighborhood design.
LEED Professional AccreditationLEED Professional Accreditation distinguishes building professionals with the knowledge and skills to successfully steward the LEED certification process. According to the USGBC, LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED APs) have demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building practices and principles and the LEED Rating System. More than 43,000 people have earned the credential since the Professional Accreditation program was launched in 2001.
And, in 2008, administration of the Professional Accreditation program transitioned to the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). The Green Building Certification Institute, established with the support of the USGBC, handles exam development and delivery to allow for objective, balanced management of the credentialing program.
More information on the LEED Rating System is available online at
www.usgbc.org/leed .
The Staff of
Environmental Design + Construction
